Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival—yet criminally underseen for over three decades—Chameleon Street recounts the improbable but true story of Michigan con man Douglas Street, the titular “chameleon” who successfully impersonated his way up the socioeconomic ladder by posing as a magazine reporter, an Ivy League student, a respected surgeon, and a corporate lawyer. Elevated by a dexterous performance and daring direction from multi-hyphenate actor-writer-director Wendell B. Harris Jr., the film pins a lens on race, class and performance in American identity, which has lost none of its relevance. At once piercingly funny and aesthetically mischievous, Chameleon Street is a “lost masterpiece of Black American cinema” (BFI) long overdue to take its rightful place in the independent film canon.

For thoughts on Chameleon Street, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/1D3SR_N-57U?t=916]

Video Quality

Chameleon Street comes to Blu-Ray in 1080p courtesy of a stunning 4K restoration of the 35mm Original Camera Negative undertaken by Arbelos Films under the supervision of director Wendell B. Harris Jr. The sumptuous natural film grain is beautifully resolved and consistent while allowing fine details to shine through in the distinct production design. Facial features are textured with fine lines detectable alongside natural skin tones. Colors are well saturated without being unnatural for the environment, such as landscapes and some interiors.

The shifting aesthetic of the movie affords several opportunities for innovation in contrast and presentation. Black levels are deep without any noticeable blocking or compression artifacts, and highlights never get too bright. Subtle details stand out with greater clarity than ever before, especially in clothing or elements of the production design. Exploring every location with this new transfer almost makes it feel like a whole new film. This is by far the best the film has looked on home entertainment, and it is perhaps the best it has ever looked.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with an LPCM 2.0 track in the original English that perfectly captures the reserved soundscape of the film. Dialogue comes through perfectly crisp and clear without getting overshadowed by any parallel sounds. Music is used effectively to conjure a specific tone for the story, and this track handles it elegantly throughout the duration of the film. There is never a moment where it threatens to trample competing sounds, and it maintains a good balance so that dialogue comes through favorably.

The environmental sounds are rendered precisely alongside everything else, even during more lively moments in the prison or during certain weather effects. There does not seem to be any noticeable instances of age-related wear and tear remaining. Arbelos Films has given this feature a perfectly preserved audio presentation that will not disappoint in the slightest. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

Special Features

The Blu-Ray of Chameleon Street includes a bound booklet featuring an essay between critic Tambay Obenson and director/writer/star Wendell B. Harris Jr. which provides a great amount of context and insight into the film and his career that is so worthwhile. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Audio Commentary #1: Director/Writer/Star Wendell B. Harris Jr. and critic Ashley Clark provides a very valuable commentary track in which the filmmaker discusses the initial idea to adapt this real-life story into a feature, securing the rights, the pre-production process, trimming down the movie from an initial three-hour concoction, the initial directors who were pursued for this film and more that provides some great background.

Audio Commentary #2: Wendell B. Harris Jr., Director of Photography Daniel Noga, producer Dan Lawton, 2nd Unit Director Bruce Schermer and more members of the crew provide a welcome commentary track in which they reflect on the realities of shooting a low budget independent film, the hiccups experienced during production, the intention behind the look of the film, working with the performers and more.

Being Independent Is Glorious: A nearly 25-minute audio interview between critic and Chameleon Street superfan Mike Plante and Wendell B. Harris Jr. from 2007 is provided here which was conducted for a print interview on the Cinemad blog. This interview is accompanied by photographs taken during production by Charles Boulware Harris. The interview itself was not intended to be distributed in audio form so the quality is not flawless, but you get some great insights from the filmmaker that are not covered on either commentary track.

The Process – The Making of Chameleon Street: A 25-minute documentary has been created using archival material including initial interviews with the performers, location scouting footage, conversations with the producers, rehearsals, some rough deleted scenes, outtakes, and more.

Archival Interview with William Douglas Street Jr.: A six-minute excerpt from 1986 with the real-life incarcerated William Douglas Street Jr. conducted by Wendell B. Harris Jr. in which you get a glimpse of how this man’s mind works.

Colette Vignette: A five-minute award-winning short film is provided here that was culled from Colette Haywood’s audition process in which the actress bluntly speaks on numerous subjects.

So, You Say You Know Leadbelly…: A seven-minute short film is provided here which evolved out of characters that would end up in Chameleon Street which is structured as an interview.

Marriage Counseling: A nearly 14-minute featurette which traces the evolution of the marriage counseling sequence using some of the audition footage, on-set footage and more.

Trailers: This disc provides the Original Theatrical Trailer (5:13) and the 2021 U.S. Theatrical Trailer (1:45).

Final Thoughts

Chameleon Street is a deftly executed and impeccably layered drama which takes an unbelievable true story and digs below the basic facts to unearth something more thematically rich and relevant. Wendell B. Harris Jr. has full command over this film both in front of the camera and behind, and what he manages to achieve on a slender budget is quite impressive. This film has three decades under its belt, but it feels just as vital as ever. Arbelos Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring an 5-star audio/visual presentation and a rich selection of special features. If you are a fan of ‘80s and ‘90s independent cinema, this release is not to be missed. Recommended

Chameleon Street is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Arbelos Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.